It’s that time again when all the predictions for the New Year are stated and we have to wait 12 months to see if they are real or imagined. My thoughts on what will be an important activity in 2011 bring me back to Employment Branding. When I wrote The Cultural Fit Factor, How to Create an Employment Brand that Attracts, Retains and Repels the Right Employee, published by SHRM in 2009, the country was just heading into an economic downturn. But here we are, just one and half years later and we’re just beginning to see glimmers of hope. Now is the time to realize that the need to find the right cultural fit is stronger than ever.
In a tough economic climate it’s easy to forget about the long-term, particularly as it relates to employee recruitment. When hiring gets put on hold or is sporadic, there’s typically little interest in talent acquisition practices.
Yet, smart companies are not ignoring future workforce requirements; they know the value of building a talent pipeline. At the same time, however, they recognize a shift in strategy and a dose of creativity may be required.
How important is this combination of future focus and adaptability? It’s no coincidence that three of the 2010 Onrec-RecruitingBlogs award winners are among those organizations looking beyond the present and planning accordingly.
With the amount of time and energy spent on finding the right candidate with the skill sets needed and the cultural ‘fit factor,’ it’s easy to forget the power of recognizing and thanking everyone involved. Be it the time the potential candidates put in, the time the finalists or the hiring managers put into meeting, or the efforts of the sourcing and recruiting teams who support you every step of the way – it is amazing what a simple ‘Thank You’ can do for morale and the overall experience of working for you and your organization!
In the aftermath of salary freezes and benefits cuts, companies continue to deal with an uncertain economy and remain cautious with spending. Developing non-monetary ways to elevate employee morale and loyalty is a critical component to retention in a post-recessionary environment.
Most of the time, the HR department of a typical corporation or other business will be trying to keep its employees satisfied and working. Recruiters are busy searching for qualified applicants who could provide a host of benefits for the company and who are likely to ‘stick with it’ and invest in the future of the company. But what happens when it is the recruiter who is thinking about leaving? For the shrewd HR manager, this is like a warning light going off. If a recruiter has spent any time with the company, there has been time and experience invested that cannot easily be replaced. Thus it is important to deal with this immediately, when warning signs present themselves. Don’t let that recruiter walk out the door!
October 1, 2010 | Posted in
Retention |
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Older employees may be the most loyal, knowledgeable, wise, motivated, and the hardest working human resource an organization has. The good news is many are choosing to stick around, and with Boomers staying longer, there’s still time to utilize their talent and experience, as well as transfer their precious knowledge to younger Gen X and Gen Y employees. But companies would do well to act swiftly. Boomers may be staying longer but they won’t stay forever.
Gen Y is a rapidly growing part of the workforce and they are changing the way we do business. Yet little is known about them and how to get the best out of them in the workplace. Managing generational differences has become an increasingly growing area. In today’s diverse and ever changing business environment, it is imperative to the areas of recruitment, retention and engagement for organizations to successfully communicate across generational boundaries, particularly to attract new Gen Y talent. To not only recruit, but to engage and retain Gen Y, this cross generational communication must start with the first conversation during recruitment and continue well beyond on-boarding to become a part of the organizational culture.
In my last column, I suggested a new twist for exit interviews, that managers conduct them with the leaving employee’s supervisor rather than HR interview the leaving employee.
For decades HR managers have been gathering exit data from leaving employees, either in person or by way of an automated system. Much data is collected but little is done with it to improve overall management performance. Why is this?
A couple of weeks ago, I was providing some interview coaching for an Ivy college Junior. He is searching for a summer internship on where else? Wall Street. This isn’t exactly open season for hiring in Financial Services, so he has to have every edge over the competition. After explaining that interviewers are often tough, I began a series of questions that “searched for limitations”. One of them, “Tell me about a time when you disagreed with your boss” led to a response I hadn’t been counting on.
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